Chinese visitor finds trade opportunities during N.J. stop

By ,
October 26, 2012 at 2:23 PM

After touring a few of New Jersey's largest wholesalers and importers on a visit to the state on Thursday, Yun Wu, a reporter at China's People's Daily newspaper, said the companies' Chinese counterparts have a lot to learn in order to stay competitive with New Jersey in the global market.

"Companies in New Jersey and companies in China are on two different levels. Chinese companies are big distributors, but New Jersey companies like Wakefern (Food Corp.) also process food and do many other things," Wu said. "I didn't expect to see a well-organized, well-managed and very efficient business like Wakefern. I can see these companies are the future for the world wholesale business, and that goes for the Chinese wholesale business, too."

New Jersey is one of several states Wu has toured to examine the United States' business connections with China, and while his travels through North Dakota presented a system of exporting goose feet to southern parts of the country, he said "on this tour with Choose New Jersey, I saw many trade links between China and New Jersey."

"After meeting with the lieutenant governor, I think I have a very complete picture of what New Jersey's government does to make New Jersey attractive for Chinese business," Wu said. "You can even see in the state's port many containers with China's shipping seal. That really surprised me, because it shows the degree of closeness between China and New Jersey."

Wu said he saw other trade relationships in the warehouses of Wakefern and Atalanta Corp., which held goods imported from China, but he said he was most impressed by both companies' efficiencies in handling and shipping those products to new places.

"The way New Jersey's companies are managed is a good thing for China to use," Wu said. "I've asked many people what they think of New Jersey, and what I've learned from them is it's very strong in manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, life sciences and education, and all of those factors fuse with New Jersey being able to work with China. I think New Jersey has a lot of potential."